Bedding climate control apparatus and method to operate thereof that incudes a retention unit to retain in position both a flexible air conduit and bedding

ABSTRACT

A bedding climate control apparatus that delivers, in a quiet manner, forced airflow from a fan/blower within a housing to selectively deliver tempered (heated via a thermal element) forced airflow and non-tempered (room temperature) forced airflow through a flexible air conduit to bedding. A retention unit holds the flexible air conduit in position against movement and simultaneously retains the bedding in place.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO COPENDING PATENT APPLICATIONS

This patent application is a division of

(1) U.S. utility application Ser. No. 15,681,998 filed Aug. 21, 2017 andentitled “BEDDING CLIMATE CONTROL APPARATUS AND METHOD TO OPERATETHEREOF”, which is a continuation-in-part of

(2) U.S. utility patent application Ser. No. 14/534,494 filed Nov. 6,2014 and entitled “BEDDING CLIMATE CONTROL APPARATUS WITH FORCED AIRFLOWFOR HEATING AND VENTILATING”, which in turn asserts a benefit ofinvention priority from the filing of

(3) U.S. provisional patent application No. 61/966,042 filed Nov. 6,2013 and entitled “Forced air thermal device for a bed with integratedwireless RF remote controls and optional wi-fi/Bluetooth controls” andis a continuation-in-part of each of:

(4) U.S. design patent application Ser. No. 29/501,652 filed Sep. 5,2014 entitled “AIR DELIVERY OUTLET NOZZLE” that matured into US D750858Son Mar. 1, 2016;

(5) U.S. design patent application Ser. No. 29/501,656 filed Sep. 5,2014 and entitled “HOUSING FOR A CLIMATE CONTROL APPARATUS” thatabandoned; and

(6) U.S. design patent application Ser. No. 29/501,647 filed Sep. 5,2014 and entitled “SLEEVED HOSE” that matured into U.S. D733,269 S onJun. 30, 2015;

(7) U.S. utility patent application Ser. No. 15/441,217 filed Feb. 23,2017 and entitled “Blanket Apparatus for Distributing Conditioned AirInto Zones of a Bed”, published under publication no. 2017-0164758 A1,which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. utility patent application Ser.No. 14/276,162 filed May 13, 2014 now abandoned.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE TO COPENDING PATENT APPLICATIONS

This patent application incorporates subject matter by reference tocopending patent applications of the same inventor as that of thepresent application:

-   -   (1) U.S. utility patent application Ser. No. 14/534,494 filed        Nov. 6, 2014 and entitled “BEDDING CLIMATE CONTROL APPARATUS        WITH FORCED AIRFLOW FOR HEATING AND VENTILATING”    -   (2) U.S. provisional patent application No. 61/966,042 filed        Nov. 6, 2013 and entitled “Forced air thermal device for a bed        with integrated wireless RF remote controls and optional        wi-fi/Bluetooth controls”;    -   (3) U.S. design Pat. No. D750858 S that issued on Mar. 1, 2016;    -   (4) U.S. design patent application Ser. No. 29/501,656 filed        Sep. 5, 2014 and entitled “HOUSING FOR A CLIMATE CONTROL        APPARATUS”, now abandoned;    -   (5) U.S. design Pat. No. D733269 S that issued on Jun. 30, 2015;        and    -   (6) U.S. utility patent application Ser. No. 15/441,217 filed        Feb. 23, 2017 and entitled “Blanket Apparatus for Distributing        Conditioned Air Into Zones of a Bed”, which is published under        publication no. 2017-0164758 A1.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Technical Field of the Invention

The invention is a home appliance that provides very rapid heating of abed via forced heated air prior to the user entering the bed, or whilethe user is in the bed and also provides a cooling effect after the userhas entered the bed via fresh room temperature air being forced into thebedding. That is, the invention relates to supplying forced air, whichmay be heated, within a space between a fitted mattress sheet and abedding sheet or within a layer of bedding. Further, a wireless protocolaccess device is used to send commands remotely to the bedding climatecontrol apparatus that affect operating parameters of the apparatus andincludes setting the temperature of a space between a fitted mattresssheet and a bed sheet by delivery of forced air, which may be heatedwith heating power as warranted.

Description of Related Art

Current control of the temperature of a bed relies on electric blanketsor electric mattress pads. These devices are limited in their wattagecapability and typically take 30 to 45 minutes to raise the temperatureof bedding by 20 degrees F. As well, they provide no means to cool theuser. They also provide no circulation of fresh air into the bedding.

Some products are currently in use in the medical field that provideforced air bed heating to patients in surgical recovery rooms. Thesedevices cannot be used without proprietary gowns with airflow channelsor perforated sheets with airflow channels that must be connected to theforced air heater for distribution of the heat to the patient. Theseproducts are also not used for cooling.

The Electric Blanket Institute finds that the average electric blanketputs out less than 200 watts of heating power, and some portion of thisenergy is emitted to the topside of the blanket into the bedroom.

Electric blankets have embedded wires, which one can feel and thesewires can be chewed on by pets or damaged by children and sharp objects.

Many electric blankets aren't reliable after repeated washings or havevery special washing and drying instructions that must be followed. Thepresent inventor has found by observing through an IR camera that wiresof a brand new blanket purchased from a major department store after 45minutes on “Hi” setting do not provide even heating. Older electricblankets cause hundreds of fires a year from wires in the bed.

It is desired to deliver heat to bedding and sheets or to provide thesensation of cooling to a person within the bedding and sheets, allunder direction from a bedside remote control. In so doing, it isdesired to deliver to bedding and sheets more dry heating power than isavailable from electric blankets in a safe and quiet manner at atemperature that is the same as provided by a household HVAC centralair-heating unit, and forced ambient temperature air in a controllablefashion

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to a method and means of operation of abedding climate control apparatus.

That is, In response to wireless receipt of commands by a beddingclimate control apparatus of the present invention, the bedding climatecontrol apparatus varies a temperature or humidity of a space between abed sheet or within a layer of bedding and a fitted mattress sheet inaccordance with the commands. Preferably, the bedding climate controlapparatus is responsive to simultaneous and non-simultaneous receipt ofcommands from both a protocol access enabled device and a remote controlwireless communication device to vary, in accordance with the commands,the temperature or humidity within a space between a bed sheet or withina layer of bedding and a fitted mattress sheet.

The operation of the bedding climate control apparatus may be equippedwith appropriate means to perform the following steps or functions:

receiving commands with a signal receiver of the bedding climate controlapparatus;

sensing the temperature or humidity of the space between bedding and afitted mattress sheet;

transmitting in a wireless manner feedback such as the sensedtemperature or humidity of the space to a location that is beyondconfines of the bedding climate control apparatus.

delivering forced air into the space in accordance with the commands soas to give rise to an inflated configuration of the space bounded by thebed sheet and the fitted mattress sheet or bounded within a layer ofbedding

imparting thermal energy to the forced airflow with a thermal element inaccordance with the commands; and

operating at least one device to remotely receive the information fromthe bedding climate control apparatus and to send out in a wirelessmanner the commands.

The bedding climate control apparatus is preferably responsive toreceipt of the commands to carry out a course of action in accord withthe commands, the course of action being selected from the groupconsisting of commencement of adjustment in a temperature or humidity,setting a change in temperature or humidity as a function of time over atime interval, and carrying out operation of the bedding climate controlapparatus in a manner that conforms with recall settings from memorystorage that are selected from the group consisting of time,temperature, humidity and air flow rate.

There is preferably a method of adjusting temperature or humidity withinbedding, comprising the steps of:

equipping a bedding climate control apparatus with components includinga thermal element that imparts thermal energy to vary a temperature or ahumidity in a bed before that of an environment surrounding the bed;

operating at least one device in wireless communication with the beddingclimate control apparatus to transmit simultaneous and non-simultaneouscommands in a wireless manner, the at least one device being selectedfrom the group consisting of a protocol access enabled device and aremote control wireless communication device, the protocol accessenabled device being selected from the group consisting of Bluetoothprotocol access enabled, WiFi protocol access enabled and Zigbeeprotocol access enabled; and

operating the equipped bedding climate control apparatus to receive thetransmitted simultaneous and non-simultaneous commands from both theprotocol access enabled device and the remote control wirelesscommunication device to have the components vary the temperature orhumidity in the bed in a manner that is in accord with the commands.

The bedding climate control apparatus is not a room air conditioningsystem, which adjusts the temperature or humidity of a whole room evenif that room happens to have a bed in it. Room air conditioning systemsdo eventually change the temperature or humidity of a bed within theroom eventually since the bed is within the room, but the environmentsurrounding the bed has its temperature or humidity changed by the roomair conditioning system before that of the bed. The reverse is the casefor a bedding climate control apparatus in accordance with the inventionsince the components of the apparatus, including the thermal elements,adjust the temperature or humidity of the space between a bed sheet anda fitted sheet initially without affecting the surrounding environmentat that initial time. After a while, there may be some localized leadthrough effect on the immediately surrounding environment that changesthe temperature or humidity of that immediately surrounding environmentsince the bedding is made of fabric that can breathe, but that ariseswell after the temperature or humidity of the space has begun to change.

An aspect of the invention reside in a bedding climate control apparatusthat delivers, in a quiet manner, forced airflow from a fan/blowerwithin a housing to selectively deliver tempered (heated via a ceramicthermal element) and untempered (room temperature) air through an airduct to bedding. The quiet manner is attained by oversizing a size ofthe housing to accommodate acoustic foam, oversizing a dimension of thefan/blower, oversizing a heating capacity of the thermal element, andoversizing a dimension of the flexible hose beyond the size actuallyneeded for efficient operation.

The capacity of the housing is oversized beyond that needed toaccommodate just the fan/blower so that it can accommodate acoustic foamat the air intake to dampen sound generation by the fan/blower. Theacoustic foam is arranged so there is no direct line of sight betweenthe air supply and the air intake to the fan/blower, thereby forcing airentering the fan/blower to have previously deflected off the acousticfoam to thereby dampen its sound.

The capacity of the fan/blower to deliver needed airflow exceeds thatnecessary for attaining the desired airflow. As a result, the fan/bloweris run at quieter speeds than would be the case if it were sized toefficiently deliver the needed airflow. One reason for being able to runthe motor of the fan/blower at a lower speed is that the pressure dropthat the airflow must overcome to reach the bedding is kept low.

In furtherance of this goal, a ceramic thermal element, which is used toheat or temper the air flow, is oversized so its capacity exceeds thatnecessary for the heat delivery needed. As a result, the oversizedthermal element can heat more of the airflow at a time (than can asmaller dimensioned ceramic thermal element) to have the airflow reach alower temperature than would be the case if it were smaller indimension. This lower temperature is below the flashpoint of dust andlint, which thus do not burn when subjected to heat from the ceramicthermal element operating at the lower temperature delivery. If theceramic thermal element were sized smaller it would need to operate todeliver the heat at a higher temperature in order the handle the airflow requirements for tempered airflow.

The air duct is oversized to lessen the pressure drop across it for therequired airflow and thus avoid the need to run the motor of thefan/blower at a higher speed to overcome the pressure drop, which wouldbe the case is the air duct were sized smaller to be suited to handlethe full air flow volume.

A further aspect is to sense air temperature of the airflow emergingfrom a discharge of the blower/fan and from an air delivery outlet so asto vary a temperature of the forced air being delivered to bedding asnecessary to maintain substantially a constant temperature throughout atime interval, as well as to shut off heating power in the event thatthe airflow temperature is to high as to risk reaching burn temperature.

Another aspect is to vary a setting of the temperature of the forced airbeing delivered to bedding as time passes. Still another aspect is todeliver the force air to bedding initially at a maximum temperaturesetting for a relatively short duration such as ten minutes to providemaximum heating and to automatically thereafter change the temperaturesetting to a lower temperature for a relatively longer duration (such asovernight). Yet another aspect resides in controlling the beddingclimate control apparatus with a wireless remote control unit and with ablue-tooth protocol access enabled wireless smart phone at the same timeor at different times. The control may include commencement of forcedairflow, heating of the forced airflow, setting a change in temperatureof the heated forced airflow as a function of time over a time interval,recall time, temperature and air flow rate settings from memory storage,setting an alarm to automatically turn on and off the bedding climatecontrol apparatus at specific times. The smart phone may work inconjunction with a software application retrieved from the internet tointeract with the bedding climate control apparatus.

Still another aspect resides in delivering heating power at a level thatprevents tripping a conventional electrical circuit of a household andin preventing high heat delivery from potentially burning skin of aperson under certain conditions by delivering between 1000 watts ofheating power to a maximum of 1500 watts of heating power inclusive andheating the forced air to a maximum set temperature substantially at 46degrees Celsius maximum or below (114 degrees Fahrenheit).

An additional aspect resides in a longitudinally expandable/compressibleflexible hose that keeps its interior air passage dimension intact evenwhen longitudinally compressed and flexed to bend. The longitudinallyexpandable/compressible flexible hose has a steel wire wound inside tomaintain the air passage dimension intact. The entire flexible hose maybe sheathed within a stretchable manmade fabric such as spandex, ornon-stretchable material.

Another aspect resides in the fan/blower being operated with a DCbrushless motor that enables 0-100% adjustability in motor power so thatairflow from the fan/blower powered by the motor permits airflowadjustment increments of as small as 5%. Thus, a user could adjust theairflow delivery volume to any of 20 settings at 5% increments from 0 to100%. Certainly, 10 settings at 10% increments could be done instead ifdesired within the range of 0 to 100% power. That would still bepreferable to the limited three choices available conventionally forblowers of just low, medium or high.

A further aspect resides in a bed sheet retention unit that has clampsthat clamp onto a bed sheet to keep its position over the air deliveryoutlet nozzle. This helps to ensure that airflow will enter the spacebetween the upper sheet and lower fitted mattress sheet regardless ofhow the occupant of the bed might move them during sleep. Since thereare platform beds that have a raised lip about their periphery, the bedsheet retention unit has two horizontally disposed segments jointed toeach other by a vertically disposed segment (riser), which rises to anelevation that is higher than the peripheral wall of the conventionalpartition bed. As an alternative, the air conduit may provide theretention function by providing the clamps at the end of the airconduit.

Preferably, the housing of the bedding climate control apparatus shouldbe sized to fit beneath conventional beds and thus be up to seven inchesin height. Therefore the bedding climate control apparatus sits next toor under the foot of the bed and sends forced hot or cool air in betweenthe bedding top sheet and bottom fitted mattress sheet via the airdelivery outlet nozzle, which is small and unobtrusive and is anchoredat the bottom corner of the bed.

Once activated, the blower/fan, flexible hose and air delivery outletnozzle operate at a very specific air pressure to quietly generate asmall cushion of turbulent air between the upper bedding sheet and lowerfitted mattress sheet that lifts the top bedding sheet off the fittedmattress sheet by a few inches. This tenting effect on the beddingcombined with the airflow that follows enables the bedding climatecontrol apparatus air to permeate throughout the entire sleeping areaand provide even heating or cooling. Alternatively the forced air may beblown in between layers of bedding, or into layers of bedding containinghollow flow cavities in accord with U.S. utility patent applicationpublication no. 2017-0164758 A1

For heating, the bedding climate control apparatus is operated to heatthree to five minutes before getting into bed to achieve a 30 degrees F.bedding pre-heat, or for short bursts while already in bed. For cooling,turn the climate control apparatus on while in bed. It is quiet, thebedding climate control apparatus emits much less noise than a room airconditioner.

Another aspect resides in a grille within the exhaust air passage ofthe/blower/fan that prevents fingers from reaching through the exhaustair passage live electrical components within the fan/blower despite thedimension of the exhaust air passage being large enough in dimension toenable fingers to fit in. This relatively larger size exhaust airpassage means that the fan/blower can deliver the necessary volume ofairflow with a lesser pressure drop through the air duct than wouldotherwise be the case if sized smaller.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is madeto the following description and accompanying drawings, while the scopeof the invention is set forth in the appended claims.

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the bedding climate control apparatus ofthe invention.

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of an assembly of an air delivery outletnozzle secured to a distal end of a longitudinallycompressible/expandable hose, whose proximal end is secured to adischarge port of the bedding climate control apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of the bed sheet retention unit inaccordance with the invention.

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of the housing of FIG. 1 opened to show theacoustic foil assembled in position in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the assembly of FIG. 2 and the bed sheetretention unit of FIG. 3 clamped to sheets for a conventional bed havinga box spring and mattress.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the assembly of FIG. 2 with the bed sheetretention unit of FIG. 3 clamped to sheets for a conventional partitionbed.

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of the bedding climate controlapparatus of FIG. 1 and wireless connectivity.

FIG. 8 is an end view of the bedding climate control apparatus housingof the discharge side.

FIG. 9 is an isometric view of the air delivery outlet nozzle inaccordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Turning to the drawing, FIG. 1 shows a bedding climate control apparatus10 is shown in accordance with the invention. The bedding climatecontrol apparatus 10 has housing 106 that contains a fan or blower (notshown in FIG. 1) that receives air via air intake grille 112. The airmay be tempered or heated with a thermal element (not shown in FIG. 1)that is contained within the housing 106 in the discharge side of thefan or blower. The structure of the housing 106 corresponds to thatdepicted in US design patent application Ser. No. 29/501,656, whosecontents are incorporated herein by reference.

FIG. 2 shows the bedding climate control apparatus 10 of FIG. 1. Airenters through the intake grille 112 and exits through the cylindricaldischarge outlet 120. An end 114 of a hose 116 is mechanically coupledto the cylindrical outlet 120 of the bedding climate control apparatus10 via any conventional mechanical coupler 27, such as engaging screwthreads (not shown). The hose 116 is hollow and serves as an air duct.The distal end of the hose 116 is connected to an inlet opening of anair delivery outlet nozzle 118 through which discharges airflow.

The hose 116 may be sheathed by a spandex fabric as depicted in USdesign patent application Ser. No. 29/501,647, whose contents areincorporated herein by reference. The hose 116 is preferablylongitudinally compressible and longitudinally expandable to enable itto bend and yet maintain the dimension of its interior. An embeddedsteel wire wraps around the length of the hose 116 in a spiral mannerthat resists radial compression or expansion and thus retains theinterior dimension regardless of the bending of the hose 116. Forinstance, the hose 116 may be bent 180 degrees and the interiordimension remains substantially unchanged. By contrast, a smooth walledhose without such an embedded, spiral wound metal wire feature wouldcollapse on the bend or have a reduced/constricted flow path, There area number of ways different hoses can achieve outer diametersupport—nearly all involve some type of reinforcement in the outerwalls, whether it be ribs, grooves, spiral wound wire, or exceptionallythick outer walls (even these will collapse if the bend is enough).

FIG. 3 shows a bedding sheet retention unit 104 that has means forclamping a bed sheet, namely, two clamps 104A diametrically oppositeeach other on a horizontally extending grasping portion that alsoincludes means for holding the flexible hose 116, namely, a horizontallyextending ring-shaped segment 104B. The flexible hose 116 of FIG. 2 willfit within the internal opening defined by the ring-shaped segment 104B.There is a vertically extending riser segment 104C that rises verticallybetween and end of a horizontally extending base segment 104D and thering-shaped segment 104B.

The ring-shaped segment 104 may be closed to grasp about a periphery ofthe hose to prevent horizontal movement of the flexible hose 116. If thering-shaped segment 104 is corrugated on its inward facing side, thecorrugations are sized to enter grooves on the exterior of the flexiblehose 116 to retain the flexible hose 116 in position against relativevertical movement where the retention takes place.

The horizontally extending base segment 104D is elongated and will liebeneath a mattress and provides firm support for the performance of theretaining and holding functions. The vertically extending riser segment104C extends along an end of the mattress at the foot of a bed. Thevertically extending riser segment 104C may be height adjustable bybeing formed of two sliding elements that slide relative to each othervertically and secured in any relative position with respect to eachother in any convention manner that two sliding pieces may be retainedin their relative position with respect to each other, such as with aseries of holes in one of the sliding pieces and a spring-loaded buttonin the other that enters into one of the series of holes when alignedand can be urged manually against spring bias to leave the hole to freethe sliding pieces from their relative position.

FIG. 4 shows two shell halves 106A, 1068 of a housing 106 with one ofthe two shell halves 106A accommodating acoustic foam 108 in a securemanner within about one half of the interior side of the one of the twoshell halves 106A that is closer to the grille 112 (FIG. 1). Thus, airentering the grille 112 strikes the acoustic foam 108 (FIG. 4) and thusthere is a dampening effect on the noise otherwise generated from theairflow. It will be understood that the two shell halves 106A, 1068 maybe secured to each other in any conventional manner, such as via alignedscrew threaded fastening elements 110 into which a screw stem isthreaded with its head recessed. The two shell halves 106A, 106B mayeach have supporting ribs 111 to help strengthen them. Instead of foam108, other kinds of dampening materials may be used such as some fibrousnon-woven materials or various cloths. Noise reduction is also possiblewith the use of a deflector that doesn't require any type of absorbentto realized desired noise reduction. Such a deflector may be a physicalshield in which the airflow needs to travel through a path in whichthere is no direct line of sight from the intake of the blower to theair supply, i.e., via a tortuous path.

FIG. 5 shows the bedding climate control apparatus 10 on a floor beneatha bed to blow forced air through the hose 116 and out the air deliveryoutlet nozzle 118 to enter space between a fitted mattress sheet coveredmattress 37 and a bed sheet 43 that overlays the fitted mattress sheet.As a result of this delivery of forced air into the space, the spaceinflates to increase the volume of the space and thus give rise to aninflated configuration of the bed sheet as shown in FIG. 5. The fittedmattress sheet covers the top, both sides, both ends and a portion ofthe underside of the mattress by opposite ends of the mattress, The bedis partially shown, with its fitted mattress sheet covered mattress 37atop a box spring 39 elevated by a frame leg 41. The hose 116 extendsfrom the fan/blower discharge in the bedding climate control apparatusto rise to the air delivery outlet nozzle 118 at the foot of the bed.The bedding retention unit 104 (see FIG. 3) has its horizontallyextending base segment 104D between the mattress 37 and the box spring39. The vertically extending riser segment 104C elevates thehorizontally extending ring-shaped segment 104B. The two clamps 104A areclamped to the bed sheet 43. The hose 116 is retained by thehorizontally extending ring-shaped segment 104B.

FIG. 6 shows a partial view of a platform bed 45 used in place of thebox spring 39 and frame leg 41 of FIG. 5. The fitted mattress sheetcovered mattress 37 rests on a base of the platform bed 45 so that thebedding retention unit 104 is positioned in a like manner except thatthe horizontally extending base segment 104D lies between the undersideof the fitted mattress sheet covered mattress 37 and the topside of thebase of the platform bed 45. Some platform beds have a peripheral lip 46that extends upward about the periphery of the base. The verticallyextending riser segment 104C elevates the horizontally extendingring-shaped segment 1048 to an elevation higher than the top of the lip46 region of the horizontally extending ring-shaped segment 104B thatmeets the top of the vertically extending riser segment 104C clears thelip 46.

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram that shows the operative componentsof the assembly of FIG. 2 and wireless connectivity. A conventional airfilter 29 is provided whose purpose is to remove particulates such asdust, lint, pollen, mold and bacteria from the ambient air source 14A. Asuitable air filter 29 is a high-efficiency particulate absorption(HEPA).

An aroma therapy optional scent unit 29A, which may be an aromatherapydevice, may be provided to administer aroma or scents into the airflowto provide scented or aromatic air that mixes with the filtered air fromthe filter 29.

The centrifugal fan/blower 24 is operated to suck in filtered airflow 14from the air source 14A so as to increase the speed of the filteredairflow 14 through the centrifugal fan/blower 24 to a constant volumeflow rate by rotating impellers that cause acceleration of the airradially and a change in the direction of the airflow.

A ceramic PTC heater element 25 heats the filtered airflow as it emergesfrom the centrifugal fan/blower 24 The thermal element may be a 1500watt positive temperature coefficient (PTC) heater element 25 usingNichrome wire or ceramic thermal elements sized to 13 Amperes powerconsumption.

An overheat condition may arise in theory from blockage of the airdelivery outlet nozzle 118 if the airflow is left unchecked or fromequipment malfunction. This is a reason for detecting the airflowtemperature with dual thermistor temperature sensors 204A so that if thetemperature gets too close to reaching a burn temperature (anunacceptable overheat condition), a thermal overheat sensor switch 26triggers to shut off power to the PTC heater element 25.

That is, the response of the thermal overheat sensor switch 26 to asensing that the overheat condition is imminent is to disrupt the mainAC power to thwart the overheat condition from being realized. Thethermal overheat sensor switch 26 would be triggered to disrupt the mainAC power well in advance of the air temperature actually reaching theburn temperature yet higher than the constant air temperature that thebedding climate control apparatus seeks to maintain.

There is a need to disperse built-up body heat and moisture with a dryand refreshing room temperature breeze in between the sheets and overone's body. Such is readily accomplished with the bedding climatecontrol apparatus 10 by blowing forced air between the top sheet andfitted mattress sheet via the hose with the air delivery outlet nozzlewith the forced air (unheated by the ceramic thermal element 25). Thatis, the ceramic thermal element 25 is shut off so as to avoid heatingthe air passing through.

A microcontroller 22, which is powered by an AC power source 201,controls the fan/blower 24, PTC heater element 25 in accordance withmanual controls or remote signals transmitted by a protocol accessenabled remote device 105 such as Bluetooth or WiFi or Zigbee (and/orwireless remote controller) and received via a signal receiver 103,which conveys the received signal to the microcontroller 22 that decodesthe received signal. The microcontroller 22 also receives temperatureinformation of the airflow from the dual thermister temperature sensors204B that sense the temperature of the airflow leaving the centrifugalblower/fan 24. There could be a temperature sensor located at the airdelivery outlet nozzle to detect localized high temperature should sucharise to trigger another thermal overheat sensor switch 26 to cut offpower to the PTC heater element 25.

The heat sink PCB (printed circuit board) and TRIAC assembly 204A servesas the heater driver to drive the heater element 25. A variac has oneprimary coil and one secondary coil, and the number of ‘effective’ turnson the secondary is varied by means of a sliding contact that ‘taps’ thesecondary coil along its length. By this means, one can control theoutput voltage in tiny steps, each equivalent to one turn. The heat sinkPCB and triac assembly 204A responds to command signals from themicrocontroller 22 to vary the output voltage to drive the PTC heater 25accordingly to heat at a particular temperature set in accord with themicrocontroller 22. The microcontroller 22 issues the appropriatecommand signals to the heat sink PCB and triac assembly 204Acorresponding to the particular temperature based upon inputs from theBluetooth protocol access enabled remote device 105 and/or wirelessremote controller and/or the airflow temperature information sensed bythe dual thermister temperature sensors 204B.

The microcontroller 22 sends commands to illuminate LED lights 28 tosignify the status of operation, including temperature, error code,on/off status. The microcontroller 22 has logic and circuitry necessaryfor reaching and maintaining a steady or substantially constant airflowtemperature for the airflow provided by the fan/blower 24.

The microcontroller 22 includes a timer module 22A that may be set toany suitable time for heating the volume of air, such as changing thetemperature setting hourly to a different temperature for heatingpurposes.

A unique feature of the invention is the ability to raise thetemperature of the bedding/sheets of a king or queen sized bed by 20degrees F. in less than 5 minutes. This temperature rise gives the userthe feeling from the bedding of a “hot towel just out of the dryer” whenentering the bed, which provides comfort and delight to the user. Itprovides heating to more than 75% of the sleeping surface area of kingor queen size bedding (including both lower and upper extremity of theuser) with a just a very small (less than 8″) protrusion into the bottomof the bed by the air delivery outlet nozzle.

Another feature of the invention is supplying room temperature forcedair into the bedding (which is at lower temperature than interior of thebedding due to natural human body heat) and thus the person in the bedexperiences a sensation of cooling from the forced air.

The invention has special electronics and relays enabling user on/offcontrol and heating/cooling control via a wireless radio frequencyremote control. The wireless remote feature combined with the bedheating invention is considered a key unique element of the function ofthe system and its use-ability in its application. The invention isintended to be a pre-heater for cold winter beds, raising thetemperature of the bed over a period of several minutes before the userenters the bed (although it can be used while the user in the bed). Assuch the wireless remote enables to user to activate the invention fromother parts of the home while preparing for bed, enabling full pre-heattime.

The invention includes a housing, a high pressure variable speedfan/blower/with brushless AC motor, an electric thermal element, specialcontrol electronics and a flexible air output hose or duct with uniqueair delivery outlet nozzle. The invention housing is located near butnot in or attached to the bed and a bed sheet retention unit is insertedinto the bottom of bed in between the mattress and the bedding (i.e.,the user sleeping layer).

Some of the main features of the invention include:

raising the temperature of the bedding/sheets of a king or queen sizedbed by 20 degrees F. in less than 5 minutes to give the user the feelingfrom the bedding of a “hot towel just out of the dryer” when enteringthe bed, which provides comfort and delight to the user.

supplying hot air at less than 135 degrees F. to prevent skin burns.Skin burns are prevented by appropriately regulating the airflow and/orthe temper of the airflow and/or duration of tempered airflow. Forinstance, the response upon sensing that the airflow temperatureentering the bedding space is too close to skin burn temperature,commands are issued to reduce or shut off power accordingly. That is,the power to the high-pressure variable blower fan to lessen or stop theforded airflow and/or the power to the thermal elements to lessen orstop their tempering of the forced airflow. The duration of thereduction or shutoff may also be regulated through the issuance ofappropriate commands.

operating a user adjustable auto-shutoff timer that will shut the unitdown after between 3 and 10 minutes of operation.

protecting against reaching burn temperature with thermalover-temperature shut off safety.

utilizing the maximum amount of intermittent current allowed fromtypical 15 amp household bedroom electrical circuit yet sized to enablemaximum speed in heating of bedding.

utilizing Nichrome wire or ceramic thermal elements sized at to 13 Ampspower consumption.

using several user adjustable heat settings, as well as adjustable airflow settings

enabling activation of the unit from a distance separated by severalrooms in a house with remove RF wireless controls [0085] enablingactivation of the unit from smart phones and tablet computers withoptional Wi-Fi Bluetooth controls.

heating to more than 75% of the sleeping surface area of king or queensize bedding (including both lower and upper extremity of the user) witha just a very small (less than 8″) protrusion into the bottom of the bedof the air delivery outlet duct/flange.

The invention's forced air approach uses a high-pressure variableblower/fan that delivers between 40 to 100 CFM of air flow at minimum0.3″ H₂O static pressure, and up to 1″ H₂O static pressure withoutstalling. The flow rate is variable by user knob setting to accommodatefor different bed sizes and bedding types. This very specific flow rateand static pressure has been determined to be the key element necessaryto enable the invention to provide even heating to 75% of the beddingsurface area of a king or queen size bed with just a small air outletduct protrusion into the bottom of the bed.

Using this very specific airflow rate and static pressure deliveryrange, a tenting effect of the top layer of bedding above the mattressis created. 75% or more of the top layer of bedding covering themattress surface area is lifted from the mattress by several inches viaa cushion of air. This cushion of air layer created in between thebedding and mattress enables the turbulent warm air from the inventionto freely distribute the heat throughout the bedding surface area. Theunique flow rate and static pressure is also a key element for usingnormal bedding that may become irregularly bunched up or not be smoothlylaid on the bed (i.e, a perfectly made bed).

The invention has electronics and relays enabling user on/off controland heating/cooling control via a wireless radio frequency remotecontrol. The wireless remote feature combined with the bed heatinginvention is considered a key unique element of the function of thesystem and its use-ability in its application. The invention is intendedto be pre-heater for cold winter beds, raising the temperature of thebed over a period of several minutes before the user enters the bed(although it can be used while the user in the bed). As such, thewireless remote enables to user to activate the invention from otherparts of the home while preparing for bed, enabling full pre-heat time.

The electronics and relays may enable user on/off control andheating/cooling control via wireless Wi-Fi protocol connection orBluetooth protocol connection or Zigbee protocol connection, thusenabling smart phone or tablet computers to be utilized as the remotecontrol.

In furtherance of this, the temperature of the forced airflow into theinflated, tented space (between the bed sheet and the fitted mattresssheet) is sensed and transmitted out from the bedding climate controlapparatus. The remote control (such as a Bluetooth/Wi-Fi/Zigbee protocolaccess enabled controller) may be equipped to receive the transmittedsensed temperature over time and undertake an analysis. The analysis maydetermine that a desired temperature has been reached in which caseinstructions are transmitted from the remote control to the beddingclimate control apparatus to stop the forced airflow. The beddingclimate control apparatus is responsive to those instructions to do justthat, i.e., shut off the forced airflow. The remote control may beequipped with a display to depict a result of the analysis, such as agraphical representation of a change in the temperature of the inflated,tented space over time.

In addition, the remote control may be programmed or receiveinstructions from an application that is accessible from the Internet orwireless network to send commands to the bedding climate controlapparatus in accordance with settings that were initiated by the user ofthe remote control. For instance, an increment shut off timer may be setby the user through the programming or via the application accessible onthe Internet to provide appropriate settings as to how the beddingclimate control apparatus is to attain changes in temperatureincrementally over time and shut off the forced airflow as thoseincremental temperatures are reached over time. The increment shut oftimer, whether in the programming or in the application accessible onthe Internet, triggers the remote control to send appropriateinstructions to the bedding climate control apparatus to carry out thesettings over time as they apply. The bedding climate control apparatusresponds accordingly by either altering the heating power delivered tothe forced airflow or altering a speed of the forced airflow (such as tozero for shutoff or higher or lower that affects the amount of time itwill take to reach a desired incremental temperature.

For example, in cooling mode, if the user wanted the temperature of thespace to change gradually or rapidly, the speed of the airflow deliverycould be varied accordingly to accommodate. On the other hand, inheating mode, if the user wanted the temperature of the space to changegradually or rapidly, then, in addition to varying the speed of theairflow delivery or even to avoid the need to vary the airflow deliveryspeed, the amount of heat power delivered to the airflow could bevaried.

Indeed, the forced airflow may be shut down entirely for a particularperiod of time after a desired temperature for the inflated, tentedspace has been reached and resumed as warranted.

Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the invention pertains to a methodof operation of a bedding climate control apparatus, comprising thesteps of

receiving commands with a signal receiver 103 of the bedding climatecontrol apparatus 10 that affect operating parameters of the beddingclimate control apparatus 10 and set a desired temperature;

Inflating a space between a fitted mattress sheet and a bed sheet intoan inflated configuration by delivery into the space of forced airflowfrom a centrifugal fan/blower 24, hose 116, and air delivery outletnozzle 116 (each of the bedding climate control apparatus);

changing the temperature of the inflated space over time to reach the atleast one desired temperature by effecting the delivery of the forcedairflow into the space subsequent to attaining the inflatedconfiguration and, as warranted, imparting heating power with a thermalelement or PTC heater element 25 to the forced airflow all in accordancewith the received commands;

sensing with dual thermistor temperature sensors 204B the temperaturerealized as a result of the changing;

ceasing, under direction from a microcontroller 22, the delivery of theforced airflow from a centrifugal fan/blower 24 after the sensedtemperature reaches the desired temperature; and

transmitting feedback such as in the form of the sensed temperature asinformation sent out from the bedding climate control apparatus. Thatis, devising the feedback pertains to a condition of the space (e.g.,the condition is the temperature of the space after adjustment), whicharises as a result of the implementation of the operation of the beddingclimate control apparatus. The signal receiver 103 may also have signaltransmitting capability to serve as a signal transmitter as well.

The invention as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7 also pertains to a beddingclimate control apparatus, comprising

means 103 for receiving commands with a bedding climate controlapparatus 10 that affect operating parameters of the bedding climatecontrol apparatus 10 and identifying at least one desired temperature;

means for inflating a space between a fitted mattress sheet and a bedsheet into an inflated configuration by delivery into the space offorced airflow from a centrifugal fan/blower 24, hose 116, and airdelivery outlet nozzle 116 (each of the bedding climate controlapparatus);

means for changing a temperature of the inflated space over time toreach the at least one desired temperature by effecting delivery of theforced airflow into the space subsequent to attaining the inflatedconfiguration and, as warranted, imparting heating power (PRC heaterelement 25) to the forced airflow all in accordance with the receivedcommands;

means for sensing (dual thermistor temperature sensors 204B) thetemperature of the inflated space that is realized as a result from themeans for changing the temperature;

means (microcontroller 22) for ceasing the delivery of the forcedairflow from a centrifugal fan/blower 24 after the sensed temperaturereaches the desired temperature; and

means for transmitting feedback such as the sensed temperature asinformation sent out from the bedding climate control apparatus. Thesignal receiver 103 may also have signal transmitting capability toserve as a signal transmitter as well.

If desired, a spandex fabric sleeve may sheath the hose 116 of FIG. 2 tosoften the appearance at bends of the hose since the bends of the hoseare in a compressed state. Such a compressed state arises from the hosebeing in a bent condition, will be concealed by the fabric sleeve, whichtakes on a generally cylindrical shape with the hose extending withinthe confines of the fabric sleeve.

FIG. 8 shows the discharge side of the upper and lower housing 106A,1068 of the bedding climate control apparatus 10. An outlet metal grilleguard 122 is within the confines of a projecting cylindrical dischargeoutlet 120 through which airflow from the fan exits to enter the hose116 of FIG. 2. The outlet metal grille guard 122 blocks a person'sfingers from entering the interior of the housing of the bedding climatecontrol apparatus 10. A manually operated mechanical on-off switch 124is accessible for turning on or off the bedding climate controlapparatus 10, although not shown in FIG. 7. A power cord 116 conveys ACpower to the bedding climate control apparatus 10. The manually operatedmechanical on-off switch functions to turn on or off power to run thecentrifugal blower/fan 24 and PTC heater element 25 of FIG. 7. The dualthermistor temperature sensors 204B of FIG. 7 may be attached to theoutlet metal grille 122 to detect the exiting airflow temperature at theoutlet metal grille 122.

FIG. 9 shows the air delivery outlet nozzle 118 of FIGS. 2 and 5, whichis hollow. The structure of the air delivery outlet nozzle 118corresponds to that depicted in US design patent application Ser. No.29/501,652, whose contents are incorporated herein by reference.

In the inflated configuration, the space receiving the forced air has aperiphery bounded by the bed sheet and the fitted mattress sheet. Byforcing air into the space via the air delivery outlet nozzle 118, theregion of the space that is away from the periphery (e.g, in more of acentral region) realizes an adjustment in its temperature or humidifybefore that of the periphery. In that sense, the forced air deliveryreaches the central region of the space faster than conventionalapproaches that rely on radiative elements or hot or cold fluid tubes toheat or cool the space since they are arranged about the periphery ofthe space and thus adjust the temperature at the periphery of the spacebefore the central region of the space is affected.

Nevertheless, the present invention as it relates to receiving commandsin a wireless manner and transmitting feedback in a wireless manner isnot necessarily limited to bedding climate control apparatus thatutilize forced air to adjust the temperature of the space between a bedsheet and a fitted mattress sheet. Such a receipt of commands (to act inaccord with) and the transmission of feedback (such as the temperatureor humidity condition) may be utilized for other kinds forms of heattransfer including conduction, diffusion, convection and radiation. Forinstance, tubes may be within the mattress that contain a fluid that iseither heated or chilled. A blanket may be used that contains radiativeheating elements. These may be utilized individually or in combinationwith each other or with the forced air convection of the preferredembodiment and each may be controlled using the wireless manner of thepresent invention for receiving commands to implement the heat transfereffect and for transmitting feedback of the sensed heat transfer effector other pertinent criteria to evaluate the effectiveness of theimplementation of the heat transfer effect.

Some examples of how the bedding control apparatus may operate includeoperating the thermal element to adjust power to maintain a constant settemperature that would be either user set or pre-preprogrammed. Theheating power of the thermal element would adjust depending onbackpressure changes in the airflow and ambient temperature to maintainthe set temperature. The operating may be in a mode where first aheating power is delivered and then automatically after any time alesser heating power is delivered or, with automatic time shutoffactivated, no heating power is delivered at all. If desired, the thermalelement may be operated at a certain power and then switched to poweroff while the fan is still running (for cooling using ambienttemperature), Preferably, the operating of the thermal element is suchthat it is activated or deactivated at a certain preset dock time andoperating of the blower or fan (with no heating power from the thermalelement) is effected such that it is activated or deactivated at acertain preset clock time or other user programmed “event”.

While the foregoing description and drawings represent the preferredembodiments of the present invention, various changes and modificationsmay be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of operation of a bedding climatecontrol apparatus, comprising the steps of positioning a retention unitto be stabilized in position underneath a mattress, grasp an air conduitto a side of the mattress and retain bedding in position to access aspace within the bedding; positioning a bedding climate control devicethat includes a blower or a fan and a thermal element so as to dischargeforced airflow into the air conduit that is heated as warranted by thethermal element; inflating the space within the bedding by forcedairflow that travels through the air conduit and into the space;changing a temperature of the inflated space over time by imparting heatfrom the thermal element into the forced airflow, the thermal elementbeing arranged so that the forced airflow comes into contact with thethermal element.
 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:operating the bedding climate control device to inflate the space in thebedding yet maintain a noise level generated from operation of theblower or fan at less than 65 decibels at one meter away.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising: issuing commands with each ofa wireless controller and a wireless protocol access enabled device, thebedding climate control device being responsive to receipt of thecommands from both the wireless controller and the wireless protocolaccess enabled device at the same time to commence operation of thebedding climate control device in accordance with the commands.
 4. Themethod according to claim 1, further comprising: issuing commands witheach of a wireless controller and a wireless protocol access enableddevice, the bedding climate control device being responsive to receiptof the commands to retrieve recall settings from memory storage rate inaccord with the commands and carrying out operation of the beddingclimate control device in accord with the retrieved recall settings, therecall settings being selected from the group consisting of time ofcommencement of the airflow, duration of the airflow, cessation of theairflow, temperature of the airflow, flow rate of the airflow and anycombination thereof.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: anauto-shutoff timer configured to be advanced with different maximum timeintervals to effect shut off the thermal element and the blower or fanat different times.
 6. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising: varying a flow rate of the forced airflow within a range ofbetween 40 to 100 cubic feet per minute inclusive at a static pressurewithin a range of between 0.3 inch of water to 1 inch of water inclusiveto create a tenting effect of a top layer of the bedding above amattress to lift 75% or more of the top layer of the top layer of thebedding via a cushion of air that enables a turbulent airflow to freelydistribute the forced airflow throughout a surface area of the beddingsurface area, regardless of whether the bedding is smoothly laid orirregularly bunched up.
 7. A bedding climate control apparatus,comprising: a retention unit stabilized in position underneath amattress and grasping an air conduit to a side of the mattress andretaining bedding in position to enable access a space within thebedding; a bedding climate control device that includes a blower or afan and a thermal element operative to discharge forced airflow into theair conduit that is heated as warranted by the thermal element, the airconduit being arranged to pass the forced airflow into the space withinthe bedding to inflate same, the bedding climate control device beingoperative to change a temperature of the inflated space over time byimparting heat from the thermal element into the forced airflow, thethermal element being arranged so that the forced airflow comes intocontact with the thermal element.
 8. The apparatus according to claim 7,wherein the bedding climate control device is operative to inflate thespace in the bedding yet maintain the noise level generated fromoperation of the blower or fan at less than 65 decibels at one meteraway.
 9. The apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising: awireless controller and a wireless protocol access enabled device eachconfigured to issue commands, the bedding climate control device beingresponsive to receipt of the commands from both the wireless controllerand the wireless protocol access enabled device at the same time tocommence operation of the bedding climate control device in accordancewith the commands.
 10. The apparatus according to claim 7, furthercomprising: a wireless controller and a wireless protocol access enableddevice each configured to issue commands, the bedding climate controldevice being responsive to receipt of the commands to retrieve recallsettings from memory storage rate in accord with the commands andcarrying out operation of the bedding climate control device in accordwith the retrieved recall settings, the recall settings being selectedfrom the group consisting of time of commencement of the airflow,duration of the airflow, cessation of the airflow, temperature of theairflow, flow rate of the airflow and any combination thereof.
 11. Theapparatus according to claim 7, further comprising: an auto-shutofftimer configured to be advanced with different time intervals to effectshut off of the thermal element and the blower or fan at differenttimes.
 12. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said bed climatecontrol device is configured to vary a flow rate of the forced airflowwithin a range of between 40 to 100 cubic feet per minute inclusive at astatic pressure within a range of between 0.3 inch of water to 1 inch ofwater inclusive to create a tenting effect of a top layer of the beddingabove a mattress to lift 75% or more of the top layer of the top layerof the bedding via a cushion of air that enables a turbulent airflow tofreely distribute the forced airflow throughout a surface area of thebedding surface area, regardless of whether the bedding is smoothly laidor irregularly bunched up.